harborfreight tools quality?

Mace · 06-29-09, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Spike-

It's all Chinese crap.

Lots of good quality stuff is coming out of china now a days.

A blanket statement of "It's all crap" is useless and pretty much wrong.

Are HF tools high quality? Heck no!
Do they do the job? Most of the time they do just fine.

The Orange power tools are really spotty. Sometimes they last a very long time. Then, others fail rapidly... Taking them apart and lubing the inside of them helps considerably..

IF I was running a shop I'd buy better tools. But for trail repairs and rare use expensive items, HF is a great solution.

-Spike- · 06-29-09, 04:05 PM

I don't doubt China is capable of putting out quality merchandise, although I have yet to encounter any. My statement referred to the Chicago stuff, and in fact pretty much all the tools HF sells. The 'Chicago Electric' name used to mean something, sounds like quality 1950's era tools, but the brand is now used on cheap quality Chinese tools. Yes, they'll work for some applications and I have many hundreds of dollars of tools from HF, but I don't kid myself thinking I can count on any of it. If it breaks I don't get pissed 'cause I expect it to break. In my opinion all HF electric tools are 'crap'.

Back to my first statement, I know people who are contracting to have Chinese firms make parts and kits for the hobby industry. The costs are extremely low, but no matter how much explaining and testing and factory touring and whatnot they do, the quality of the product rarely hits the benchmarks. It all comes back to 'you get what you pay for'. There's definitely a market for Chinese stuff, but that market is not the high quality one.

-Spike

Koffer · 06-29-09, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Spike-

Back to my first statement, I know people who are contracting to have Chinese firms make parts and kits for the hobby industry. The costs are extremely low, but no matter how much explaining and testing and factory touring and whatnot they do, the quality of the product rarely hits the benchmarks. It all comes back to 'you get what you pay for'. There's definitely a market for Chinese stuff, but that market is not the high quality one.

-Spike

The 2 post 10K lift I have is made in china and is one hell of a nice unit .
The place I got it from Greg Smith Equipment Sales Inc. - The lift professionals with quality automotive equipment at discount prices. has no problem showing the other turds coming out of china and they have a few videos on their site showing the cheap stuff buckling under reg tests .

lordVader · 06-29-09, 10:06 PM

Their drillbits are terrible. The powertools are pretty decent the motors from my experience heat up quite a bit after 30-40 minutes of continuous use.

You can't go wrong with buying all your air tools from HF though. Air tools are very easy to make and you really can't go wrong manufacturing an impact wrench...

cronic · 07-02-09, 10:58 AM

The Chinese will build you any level of quality you want. But the truth is when you are getting them to price out a production run you are usually doing it for one reason, and that is to cut cost. To say all Chinese stuff is crap is just plan wrong, they are more than willing to build you a quality product, just not many are looking for that from them.........

GLTHFJ60 · 07-02-09, 11:06 AM

From my experience, anything hydraulic or mechanical is fine. Their grinders use plastic bushings instead of bearings in the models I've seen opened up.

That said, I use one of their powdercoating machines all the time and I LOVE IT! Don't think I could justify getting a more expensive one.

-Spike- · 07-02-09, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cronic

The Chinese will build you any level of quality you want. But the truth is when you are getting them to price out a production run you are usually doing it for one reason, and that is to cut cost. To say all Chinese stuff is crap is just plan wrong, they are more than willing to build you a quality product, just not many are looking for that from them.........

I could easily see that. The only reason to bring the stuff to the US is price, so we see the cheap stuff. I have no doubt they're capable of producing quality products.

cruiserhead · 07-02-09, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VFRMAN

My $.02: Don't buy anything from HF that you apply force to. i.e. sockets, ratchets, pry bars, extensions, breaker bars, etc. It's almost comical (except for the anger that ensues at midnight while you're trying to finish a project) how easy that stuff twists, bends, or just plain shears off in your hands.

I second the comments on some non-essential goods though.

It`s all our cars that were stuffed with Bud cans and sold to China for scrap.

David

marks69cruiser · 07-03-09, 08:49 AM

I love the new harbor freight add, comparing there tool box to a snap ons! hilarious! I bought a bunch of there tools (floor jack, jack stands, engine stand, cherry picker, c clamps) all work perfect and were great deals.

cruiser88 · 07-03-09, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mace

Lots of good quality stuff is coming out of china now a days.

A blanket statement of "It's all crap" is useless and pretty much wrong.

Are HF tools high quality? Heck no!
Do they do the job? Most of the time they do just fine.

The Orange power tools are really spotty. Sometimes they last a very long time. Then, others fail rapidly... Taking them apart and lubing the inside of them helps considerably..

IF I was running a shop I'd buy better tools. But for trail repairs and rare use expensive items, HF is a great solution.

cruiser88 · 07-03-09, 11:33 AM

And tough..the ones you listed.

The big floor jack I got from them .....it takes two carry it

Quote:

Originally Posted by marks69cruiser

I love the new harbor freight add, comparing there tool box to a snap ons! hilarious! I bought a bunch of there tools (floor jack, jack stands, engine stand, cherry picker, c clamps) all work perfect and were great deals.

lordVader · 07-03-09, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruiser88

And tough..the ones you listed.

The big floor jack I got from them .....it takes two carry it

Are you taking about the 3 ton one?
Weights about 90 lbs and costed 89$ before taxes ?

cruiser88 · 07-03-09, 05:51 PM

No not that one....I have that one also. I don't remember the ton rating but the damn thing is like 4 feet long. It was a clearance item. I paid like 120 bucks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordVader

Are you taking about the 3 ton one?
Weights about 90 lbs and costed 89$ before taxes ?

lordVader · 07-03-09, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruiser88

No not that one....I have that one also. I don't remember the ton rating but the damn thing is like 4 feet long. It was a clearance item. I paid like 120 bucks.

cool. yea. so my chicago pneumatic air ratchet that i bought for $19 from HF decided to break today. the dam thing doesn't put out any pressure :/

bah!
how can you even make an air-ratchet that breaks, that thing must be 3 parts

likewelders · 07-04-09, 11:56 AM

Just got home from HF, they were open on the 4th of July so that was cool.

Happy 4th by the way.

I bought a clearance item, ultrasonic stain remover, for $4.00 and it will not stay on. I changed the batteries that came with it and it is not the batteries. You probably can not get 4 AA batteries for $4 these days. Anyway, all is not perfect at HF.

I will take it back next trip there and get another one. The company I work for imports equipment from China and I know up until about a year ago, we bought from one factory that was always cutting corners, constant problems. We moved to another factory and very few issues and returns are rare. HF probably buys from a number of factories over there. Probably why some of their tools are OK and some are junk.

Like everyone knows, if you are using them to make a living, buy the good stuff.

Have to look for the ad where they compare their tool boxes to snap-on. That would be a good laugh for sure. I would just weigh the two boxes.

Pin_Head · 07-08-09, 05:52 PM

They are surprisingly good for the price. If they break or wear out, you can just throw them away without crying over it. MY HF angle grinder has outlived my Makita. I remember when I was a kid that people would bag on Japanese tools (and cars) the same way.

tltaylor22 · 07-08-09, 11:22 PM

Funny the China thing has come up. We had a US dealer for the the product we make have an issue with a certian number of the components we started using at the start of the new year. He had heard that we had contracted with a company that designs in the US and manufactures in China so he basically ripped us a new one for the cheap Chinese parts we were using. He listed all the parts that he was having a certian issue with and demanded that we switch to a certian well known US manufacturer of those components. I went through the list and every component he complained about was from the company in California that he wanted us to switch to. The Chinese made parts were blem free and working perfectly. Since that email the US company changed material that we had specified on on of our parts on thier own. This part is now melting in the field as it comes in contact with a solvent and was supposed to be made out the correct material that it had been for 6 years. Frankly I'm fed up with the crap I get from the US. Like was said before, they used to be known for quality. Our new supplier designs here and own the factory there. They have very strict SOPs and have the lowest quality issues of anyone we have ever dealt with. This doesn't translate to HF tools as most are in the Cheap instead of quality catagory, although i have had very good luck with most of them including a water fed metal band saw and a floor mounted drill press. I just hate to see the blanket "Chinese stuff sucks" come into play.

MoJ · 07-09-09, 07:12 AM

As said above, they have some real crap. A few things that I've bought there for dirt cheap and ended up being happy with:

1. Seal driver set. Perfect for birf jobs. (the one with red case and colored aluminum driver heads)
2. Stubby wrench set. I've used these pretty hard without issue.
3. Terminal pick set. Dirt cheap and the exact same as sold elsewhere for more $.
4. Brass hammer.
5. Brass drifts.
6. Assorted rubber mallets. Sometimes as cheap as .99

All low tech stuff. It's hit and miss. I wouldn't recommend the line wrenches if you're looking for precision.

dogcatch'n · 07-10-09, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tltaylor22

Funny the China thing has come up. We had a US dealer for the the product we make have an issue with a certian number of the components we started using at the start of the new year. He had heard that we had contracted with a company that designs in the US and manufactures in China so he basically ripped us a new one for the cheap Chinese parts we were using. He listed all the parts that he was having a certian issue with and demanded that we switch to a certian well known US manufacturer of those components. I went through the list and every component he complained about was from the company in California that he wanted us to switch to. The Chinese made parts were blem free and working perfectly. Since that email the US company changed material that we had specified on on of our parts on thier own. This part is now melting in the field as it comes in contact with a solvent and was supposed to be made out the correct material that it had been for 6 years. Frankly I'm fed up with the **** I get from the US. Like was said before, they used to be known for quality. Our new supplier designs here and own the factory there. They have very strict SOPs and have the lowest quality issues of anyone we have ever dealt with. This doesn't translate to HF tools as most are in the Cheap instead of quality catagory, although i have had very good luck with most of them including a water fed metal band saw and a floor mounted drill press. I just hate to see the blanket "Chinese stuff sucks" come into play.

agree....

that being said, " Does anyone have any experience with welders available on HF site"...?

.

likewelders · 07-12-09, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogcatch'n

agree....

that being said, " Does anyone have any experience with welders available on HF site"...?

.

I picked up a HF MIG 100 unit many years ago. 110 volt AC unit and worked with 15 amps. No gas either.

It was fine for thin metal 1/8" and down. And it worked as expected, no wire feed issues, etc. Not having gas required some cleanup.

I would recommend getting one with gas and 180 amps or better, otherwise you will probably outgrow it pretty fast. Never tried their larger units but the HF MIG 100 worked as well as the MM 130 someone traded me.